FAQs

What is a Christian Union?

A Christian Union is a group of students who’ve come together from diverse backgrounds in order to give every student at their University the opportunity to hear and respond to the good news about Jesus Christ. Our heart is to be a community that loves Jesus, loves each other, and shares Jesus with the students on our campus. 

What’s the difference between a CU and Church?

The CU loves the local church. We believe that is it through partnership with the local church that the campus can be most effectively reached for Jesus Christ. 

In Lancaster, the churches we’re part of help us to value the bible, prayer and community. When we do these activities in CU, it's not to replace what we do in church, but rather to enjoy more of what will fuel effective mission on campus. The unique mission of the CU is to reach the University campus through a community living and studying together, meaning that the CU operates as the missional arm of the local church on campus. 

Our mission flows from local churches as they disciple us and send us out, and flows back to the local church as new Christians are helped to be lifelong disciples.

What kinds of things does the CU do?

The CU is one of the most active societies on campus, carrying-out a variety of different activities and events. We do things aimed at equipping individuals and the CU as a whole for sharing Jesus, such as: our prayer meeting, Impact Groups and our big weekly meeting (called ‘Equip’). We also run events so that students on campus can hear the gospel and experience it through acts of kindness and love.

Who leads the CU?

Like any other Student’s Union society, the CU is led by a team of students called the ‘Executive Committee’. The Executive committee changes round each year like all societies to allow for new ideas. There are also a number of other roles coordinating various aspects of CU which are integral to what we do.

Do I need to believe certain things to be part of the CU?

The CU is an open community accepting of anyone who comes through our doors. There are no special qualifications, creeds or beliefs necessary to come along and be part of our community. As with every CU across the country however, we do have a set of basic Christian beliefs - called the ‘Doctrinal Basis’ - which we unify around in order that we have common ground for doing mission together across our diverse church backgrounds.

Does the CU collaborate with any other societies on campus?

Yes, the CU regularly connects with two other Christian societies on campus - the ‘Chinese Christian Fellowship’ and ‘Radical Youth’.

What’s the relationship between the CU and UCCF?

UCCF is the family of Christian Unions across the UK, which includes us - CU students! - our Staff and Relay Workers, and supporters who pray for us and cheer us on.

Although the CU is student-led we're really glad for the support, example and advice that our Staff and Relay Workers give us as we carry-out our mission on campus. 

UCCF also puts-on a number of high-quality conferences and training sessions for CU leaders as part of their commitment to help CUs like us in our mission.

You can find out more about UCCF here: https://www.uccf.org.uk/ 

How many puns based on the fact that ‘CU’ sounds like ‘see you’ should I expect to hear?

Many. Too many.